In 1967 forgeries of the Australian $10 note were found in circulation[3] and the Reserve Bank of Australia was concerned about an increase in counterfeiting with the release of colour photocopiers that year. In 1968 the RBA started collaborations with CSIRO, and funds were made available in 1969 for the experimental production of distinctive papers. The insertion into banknotes of an optically variable device (OVD) created from diffraction gratings in plastic as a security device was proposed in 1972. The first patent arising from the development of polymer banknotes was filed in 1973. In 1974 the technique of lamination was used to combine materials; the all-plastic laminate eventually chosen was a clear, BOPP laminate, in which OVDs could be inserted without needing to punch holes.

BOPP is a non-fibrous and non-porous polymer. Compared to paper banknotes, banknotes made using BOPP are harder to tear, more resistant to folding, more resistant to soil, waterproof (and washing machine proof), harder to burn, easier to machine process, and are shreddable and recyclable at the end of their lives.[citation needed]

A R$10.00 (ten reais) polymer Brazilian banknote released in April 2000 as a special edition commemorating the country's 500th anniversary.

Polymer banknotes usually have three levels of security devices. Primary security devices are easily recognisable by consumers and may include intaglio, metal strips, and the clear areas of the banknote. Secondary security devices are detectable by a machine. Tertiary security devices may only be detectable by the issuing authority when a banknote is returned.[7]

Traditional printed security features applied on paper can also be applied on polymer. These include: intaglio printing, offset and letterpress printing, latent images, micro-printing, and intricate background patterns. Polymer notes can be different colours on the obverse and reverse sides.

Polymer banknotes enabled new security features previously unavailable with paper. The transparent window where the OVD is located is a key security feature which is easily identifiable, allowing nearly anyone to authenticate a banknote. Another feature is a diffraction grating. Since 2006, however, the development of paper transparent window technologies by De La Rue (Optiks) and G&D (varifeye) have reduced that advantage.

A polymer banknote contains many security features that cannot be successfully reproduced by photocopying or scanning, making it very difficult to counterfeit. The complexities of counterfeiting polymer banknotes are proposed to act as a deterrent to counterfeiters. The substrate BOPP film, metallised or otherwise, is available from European and Chinese suppliers, as are the metameric inks used.

Trading as Innovia Security, Innovia Films markets BOPP as "Guardian" for countries with their own banknote printing facilities. Note Printing Australia (a wholly owned subsidiary of the RBA) prints commemorative banknotes and banknotes for circulation, and has done so for 20 countries.

As of 2014, at least seven countries have converted fully to polymer banknotes: Australia, Brunei, Canada, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Romania and Vietnam. Other countries and regions with notes printed on Guardian polymer in circulation include: Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Hong Kong (for a 2-year trial), Indonesia, Israel, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal (no longer issued), Solomon Islands (no longer issued), Samoa, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Zambia. Canada released its first polymer banknote ($100) on 14 November 2011, followed by the $50 banknote on 26 March 2012, the $20 banknote on 7 November 2012 and finally, the $10 and $5 banknotes on 7 November 2013. Countries and regions that have issued commemorative banknotes (which are not in circulation) on Guardian polymer include: China, Taiwan, Northern Ireland[Note 1] and Singapore.

In August 2012, Nigeria's Central Bank attempted the switch back from polymer to paper banknotes,[8] saying there were "significant difficulties associated with the processing and destruction of the polymer banknotes" which had "constrained the realisation of the benefits expected from polymer banknotes over paper notes".[9] However, President Goodluck Jonathan halted the process in September 2012.[10]

The polymer notes in the Republic of Mauritius are available in values of Rs 25, Rs 50 and Rs 500. The Fiji $5 was issued[11] in April 2013.

In the United Kingdom, the first polymer banknotes were issued by the Northern Bank in Northern Ireland in 2000; these were a special commemorative issue bearing an image of the space shuttle.[Note 1] In March 2015, the Clydesdale Bank in Scotland began to issue polymer Sterling £5 notes marking the 125th anniversary of the building of the Forth Bridge.[12] These were the first polymer notes to enter general circulation in the UK.[13] The Royal Bank of Scotland followed in 2016 with a new issue of plastic £5 notes illustrated with a picture of author Nan Shepherd, and plans to issue a polymer £10 in 2017.[14] In September 2016, the Bank of England began to issue £5 polymer notes with a picture of Winston Churchill; £10 polymer banknotes with a picture of author Jane Austen are planned for 2017. Although the new Bank of England notes will be 15% smaller than the older, paper issue, they will bear a similar design.[15][16] Some businesses operating in the UK cash industry have opposed the switch to polymer, citing a lack of research into the cost impact of its introduction.[17]

In 1982 and 1983, the American Bank Note Company printed banknotes for Costa Rica (20 colones dated 1983 and trial notes of 100 colones) and Haiti (1, 2, 50, 100, 250 and 500 Gourdes) on DuPont's Tyvek polymers. These had fairly limited release, but did circulate in each country. Additional trial and specimen banknotes were developed for Honduras and El Salvador. Unfortunately, in tropical climates, ink did not bind well to the polymer and the notes began smearing quite badly.

In 1983, the British printers Bradbury Wilkinson produced a promotional version of polymer banknotes which were marketed as Bradvek. The Isle of Man issued a 1-pound Bradvek banknote which circulated from 1983 to 1988. Another British printer, Harrison and Sons also produced a promotional banknote, but did not have any buyers.

In 1990, Western Samoa (later renamed Samoa) issued a 2 Tala commemorative banknote honouring 50 years of service by His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II. This banknote was placed in circulation and has the distinction of having the longest period of circulation, as of 2006 it had been circulating for 16 years, and has been reprinted with minor variations at least 7 times.

In August 1990, Singapore issued a $50 commemorative banknote, and in 2004 issued its first circulating $10 banknote, followed by a $2 issue in 2006. The $5 banknote and the commemorative $20 banknote were issued in 2007.

In June 1991, Papua New Guinea issued a commemorative 2 Kina banknote, its first polymer issue.

In 1992, Australia began issuing polymer notes for general circulation.

In February 1993, Kuwait issued the first of its commemorative banknotes, a 1 Dinar issue honouring the liberation of Kuwait during the First Gulf War. In 2001, a 1 dinar note was also issued to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Liberation of Kuwait.

In 1993, Indonesia issued its first polymer banknote, the 50,000 rupiah note commemorating 25 years of development A paper equivalent was also available at the same time.

In 1996, Australia became the first country with a full set of circulating polymer banknotes in each denomination, from 5 to 100 dollars.

In 1996, Thailand issued both a 50 and a 500 bank note commemorating the 50th anniversary of the reign of Bhumibol Adulyadej.

In February 1996, Brunei issued 1, 5 and 10 ringgit banknotes. These were the first non-commemorative banknotes issued outside of Australia (and the 1982 issues).

In 1997, Thailand issued a 50 baht note as its first polymer note for general circulation.

In February 1998, Sri Lanka issued a 200 Rupee commemorative polymer banknote to celebrate Sri Lanka's 50 years of independence.

In 1998, Malaysia issued a commemorative banknote in conjunction with the XVI Commonwealth Games; it issued a 5 ringgit circulating banknote in 2004. In July 2012 it issued a new series of banknotes, of which the 1 ringgit and 5 ringgit denominations are in polymer.

On 3 May 1999, New Zealand released the polymer $20 note. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand switched all of its notes to polymer in the following twelve months: with the $100 note on 26 July, the $5 and $10 note simultaneously on 18 October, and finally the $50 note on 20 March 2000.

In 1999, Romania was the first European country to introduce a full set of circulating polymer banknotes (the banknotes were issued between 1999 and 2001). These included the commemorative 2000 lei note which was issued to celebrate the last eclipse of the millennium.

In 1999, Indonesia for the first time issued a 100,000 rupiah polymer note for general circulation.

In June 1999, Taiwan issued a 50-dollar note to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the issuance of the New Taiwan dollar.

In 1999, the Northern Bank, one of five banknote-issuing authorities in Northern Ireland issued a 5-pound commemorative note celebrating the year 2000; this note was placed in circulation, and was also sold at a premium to collectors with a Y2K serial number prefix.

In April 2000, Brazil released a 10 real polymer bill to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Portuguese arrival in America. Casa da Moeda do Brasil printed 250 million banknotes, around half the 10 real bills in circulation.

In November 2000, the People's Republic of China issued a 100 yuan note to commemorate the millennium.

In December 2000, Bangladesh issued 10-Taka polymer notes.

In 2000, the Chatham Islands issued the first of three sets of commemorative banknotes for the collecting market.

On 1 January 2001, Australia issued a commemorative $5 polymer banknote. It commemorated the centenary of federation.

In June 2001, the Solomon Islands issued $2 polymer banknotes, however they reverted to paper notes in 2006.

In the summer of 2001, Vietnam issued a 50-dong commemorative banknote.

In February 2002, Nepal issued a 10 rupee polymer banknote, commemorating the new King Gyanendra. In 2005 it issued a version for circulation without the commemorative text.

In September 2002, Mexico switched 20 peso banknotes from paper to polymer banknotes. Two more new polymer notes issued in 2006, for the 20 pesos (new design) and 50 pesos.[18]

In 2003, Zambia was the first African country to adopt polymer banknotes, with 500 and 1000 kwacha denominations.

In November 2003, Papua New Guinea issued a 20 kina banknote, and began the process of issuing all denominations in polymer format. The only remaining denomination not in polymer is the 5 kina note.

From December 2003 to August 2006, Vietnam adopted polymer banknote in 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100,000, 200,000 and 500,000 đồng for general circulation,[19] becoming the fourth country to fully convert to polymer notes.

In September 2004, the 2000 Chilean peso bills began to be issued in polymer banknotes

In 2004 it was estimated that there were over 3 billion polymer notes in service.

In 2004, the only polymer note for general circulation in Thailand, the 50 baht note issued in 1997, was reissued in paper format. Commemorative notes continue to be issued in polymer format.

In 2004, the only polymer note for general circulation in Indonesia, the 100,000 rupiah note issued in 1999, was re-issued on paper.

In 2005, Papua New Guinea issued the new 100 kina note, its first denomination that was never printed in paper format.

In July 2005, Romania became the first country to issue a full second generation of plastic notes of each of its denominations; the notes bearing the same design format as the old notes, but their size brings them in line with euro banknotes, and are denominated in a reformed currency where 1 new leu = 10,000 lei

In 2005, Bulgaria issued the first hybrid paper/polymer banknotes, denominated 20 (new) leva, featuring two plastic "windows" and a hologram.

In November 2006 Mexico issued a new 50 pesos polymer banknotes.

In 2006 CSIRO, the Australian Government agency issued a non-legal tender polymer note to celebrate the 80th year of the formation of CSIRO. These notes were issued and distributed to staff members and at selected public events.[20]

On 28 February 2007, Nigeria issued the 20 naira note as polymer banknotes. On 30 September 2009, the Central Bank of Nigeria issued 5-, 10-, and 50-naira banknotes printed on polymer. On 29 September 2010, a 50-naira note was issued to commemorate the nation's 50th anniversary of independence.

In June 2007, Brunei became the fifth country to fully convert to polymer notes.

In August 2007, the Bank of Guatemala issued a 1 quetzal polymer banknote. On 14 November 2011, a 5 quetzal banknote was issued in a polymer substrate.

On 13 April 2008, Israel started to issue 20 NISBanknotes, due to the high deterioration of 20 NIS paper banknotes. The Israeli polymer notes are printed by Orell Füssli Security Printing of Zürich, Switzerland.[21]

On 15 April 2008, Papua New Guinea issued 5 and new 10 kina banknotes for general circulation. 5 Kina being the last denomination for Papua New Guinea on polymer.

On 1 December 2008, Romania started issuing a revised version of the 10leibanknote..

On 15 May 2009, Nicaragua released new polymer ten and twenty Nicaragua córdoba banknotes to replace their paper counterparts.[22] After an announcement from the Central Bank of Nicaragua in 2008 stated that a new 200 Córdoba banknote would be in circulation, it took the country an additional year to prepare its new set of banknotes. A new polymer two hundred and a hundred córdoba banknote was first issued on the first of June 2009. In December 2009, a new 50 banknote was released, later followed by a new 500 C$ banknote that was issued on 12 January 2010.[23][24]

A 100 peso polymer banknote issued by the Banco de Mexico, to commemorate the centennial of the Mexican Revolution.

In November 2011, the Bank of Canada introduced the Frontier Series $100 polymer banknotes to modernise the currency and reduce counterfeiting.[27] $50 banknotes were put into circulation in March 2012; the $20 note was put into circulation on 7 November 2012[28] with the $10 and $5 denominations released on 7 November 2013.[29][30]

On 2 January 2013, the Reserve Bank of Fiji introduced a new series of Fijian dollar banknotes that depict the nation's flora and fauna instead of the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. Among the denominations is the five-dollar note, which is now printed on polymer instead of cotton paper. They were printed by De La Rue.[33]

On 22 August 2013, the Bank of Mauritius issued new 25-, 50-, and 500-rupee polymer banknotes which will circulate in parallel with the existing paper notes of the same denominations. The new polymer notes have almost the same design as the preceding paper banknotes, but contain numerous new security features such as transparent windows showing the image of the dodo, numbers printed with magnetic ink which become fluorescent under ultra violet light, and swing features printed in iridescent ink, which change to a different colour when observed in transparency or when tilted. The 25-, and 50-rupee notes are printed by Oberthur Technologies on Innovia Security's Guardian substrate and the 500-rupee note is printed by De La Rue on its Safeguard (formerly Flexycoin) substrate.[35]

On 22 November 2013, the Bank of Lebanon issued a 50,000 livre banknote in polymer to commemorate the country's 70th anniversary of independence.[36]

On 5 August 2014, the National Bank of Poland will issue 50,000 20 złotych polymer banknotes to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Polish Legions.[39]

In 2014, the Central Bank of the Gambia issued a 20 Dalasis banknote printed on De La Rue's Safeguard polymer substrate. It commemorates President Yahya Jammeh's 20 years in office as President.[40][41]

On 15 December 2014, the Central Bank of Trinidad & Tobago issued a $50 note printed on polymer to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Central Bank of Trinidad & Tobago.[43]

On 23 December 2014, the Banco de Cabo Verde issued a new family of escudo banknotes that honour Cape Verdean figures in the fields of literature, music, and politics. One note in the new series is the 200 escudos banknote, now printed on polymer.[44]

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is set to introduce a new family of notes with improved security features, with the $5 and $10 notes in October 2015, and the $20, $50 and $100 notes in April 2016.[45]

In 2015, Clydesdale Bank issued two million 5 pound notes, printed in polymer. It features a portrait of Sir William Arrol and an image of the Forth Bridge.[46]

In 2015, the Reserve Bank of India plans to introduce polymer banknotes on a pilot basis and improve security features to defeat the efforts of counterfeiters[48]

The Banque du Liban issued a 50,000 livre banknote in polymer to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Lebanese Army.[49]

The Bank of Papua New Guinea is set to issue 10 and 20 kina notes in polymer, one to commemorate the XV Pacific Games and the other to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of Papua New Guinean independence.[50][51]

The Maldives Authority Monetary introduced a new family of banknotes printed on De La Rue's "Safeguard" polymer substrate. A commemorative 5,000 Rufiyaa banknote was issued in July 2015, and followed by the 10-, 20-, 50-, 100-, 500 and a new denomination, 1,000 Rufiyaa in October 2015.[52][53][54]

The Monetary Authority of Singapore issued a set of polymer banknotes to commemorate the nation's 50th anniversary of independence. It consists of five S$10 notes and a commemorative S$50 note.[55]

On 9 September 2015, the Bank of Canada (Banque du Canada) issued a 20 dollar polymer note to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's milestone as the longest-reigning monarch in Canada's modern era. It is similar to the regular issue 20 dollar polymer note, but the notable features for the commemorative note are the metallic portrait of the queen, based on a photograph taken by renowned Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh, the metallic symbol including the Queen's mongram surmounted by the St. Edward's crown, surrounded by a garland of maple leaves and the text "A HISTORIC REIGN • UN RÈGNE HISTORIQUE" repeated at the top, center and bottom of the large window.[56]

The Government of Gibraltar is set to issue a 100-pound sterling polymer banknote to commemorate Sir Joshua Hassan's 22 years as Chief Minister in the first half of 2016.[57]

The Royal Bank of Scotland is set to issue £5 and £10 banknotes in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The notes will be printed on De La Rue's Safeguard polymer substrate.[58]

The Banco Central de Nicaragua issued a new family of notes on 26 October 2015. They are printed in polymer, except for the 500 cordobas banknote, which is printed on cotton paper substrate.[59][60]

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand issued $5 and $10 notes with improved security features on 12 October 2015.[61]

On September 1, 2016, the Reserve Bank of Australia issued a five-dollar polymer note with improved security features and a tactile feature to assist those with visual impairments.[62]

On 13 September 2016 the Bank of England started issuing the new polymer £5 note, the first to be issued in England and Wales.[63]

The use of the term "polymer" in place of "plastic" to describe banknotes was introduced on 1 November 1993 by the Reserve Bank of Australia, at the launch of its $10 note. Jeffrey Bentley-Johnston and his firm were retained to assist in the launch of the $10 note after the $5 note received a cool reception. Having earlier worked in a firm that designed and constructed synthetic fibre plants, Bentley-Johnston recognised the polymer nature of the new banknote and so proposed the use of that term.

^ abAlthough the £5 Northern Bank polymer banknote was a one-off commemorative issued, unconventionally, in portrait orientation to mark the year 2000, it was in general circulation, with normal serial numbers (the commemorative version has serial numbers beginning with "Y2K", normal versions with "MM").[citation needed] It is the only Northern Bank note currently in circulation which was not affected by the recall of all the bank's notes as a result of the 26.5 million pound raid on its Belfast headquarters on 20 December 2004.[citation needed]